Afrezza, an inhaled insulin powder, is now available by prescription in U.S. retail pharmacies, Sanofi and MannKind Corp. announced. The drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to control high blood sugar in adults who have type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Thanks to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Five-Star Quality Rating System, the diabetes community stands to play a significant role in how pharmacies think about their patients and their medication adherence programs.

The Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval for Basaglar (insulin glargine injection), which is used to improve glycemic control in adults with Type 2 diabetes and in combination with mealtime insulin in adults and pediatric patients with Type 1 diabetes.

Sanofi on Monday acquired the rights to Afrezza Inhalation Powder, a new rapid-acting inhaled insulin therapy for adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, from MannKind in a deal that could be worth as much as $925 million.

BD Medical, a segment of BD, on Wednesday announced the retail pharmacy launch of BD AutoShield Duo, the only pen needle with patented dual front- and back-end shields that provides greater convenience and safety before and after injecting.

Almost 70% of adults with Type 1 diabetes never use their blood glucose self-monitoring devices or insulin pumps to download historical data about their blood sugar levels and insulin doses — information that likely would help them manage their disease better.

Novo Nordisk on Thursday announced the launch of Levemir FlexTouch (insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection), a prefilled insulin delivery mechanism, providing a new way for diabetics to administer their insulin.

A study published Wednesday on JAMA's website found that diabetes patients taking metformin had a higher risk of all-cause death when insulin was added to their treatment as compared to when sulfonylureas were added to treatment.

An international team led by researchers at the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital has identified mutations in a gene that can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, even in people who have such risk factors as obesity and old age, the group announced Sunday.

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved two "robotic pills," or pills that place an image camera or ingestible sensors into the gastrointestinal tract, according to a report published earlier this week by the Wall Street Journal.

America’s biopharmaceutical research companies currently are developing 180 new medicines to help the nearly 400 million people who have diabetes worldwide, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Tuesday.

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